Someone Just Bought A Brand-New 2005 VW Golf For Half Its Original Price
Is it the deal of the century?
Finding a pristine 20-year-old model with delivery mileage is rare enough, but no one expects this to be a mainstream family hatchback. Believe it or not, a fifth-generation VW Golf spent the last 21 years parked in a garage in France, only to re-emerge for an auction with 104 miles (167 km) on the clock.
To think that someone bought a new Golf in 2005, drove it home, threw a cover over it, and drove it less than 100 miles over the next two decades is quite strange. Still, that's pretty much the story of the pictured vehicle, which was recently auctioned on Catawiki.
The time capsule is a VW Golf 2.0 FSI in the high-end trim Carat, which was delivered in Toulouse in May 2005. According to the listing, the single owner kept it safely stored in a closed garage, shielded from light, dust, and humidity.
Because it was treated like a garage queen, the German hatchback remains in pristine condition, with no defects, signs of wear, or missing parts. The paint looks like it just came out of the factory, the headlights haven't fogged, and the 17-inch alloy wheels have no chips.
Equipment and performance
Inside, there is no fancy infotainment display, but the Carat came standard with leather upholstery, climate control, automatic headlights and wipers, and six airbags. This example comes with the original delivery paperwork, two original keys, and a stamped service book, though the new owner might need to do some basic maintenance if they want to break the spell and take it out on the road.
While the 2.0 FSI is no match for the GTI or R32 variants of its time, it still offered decent performance. The naturally aspirated four-cylinder gasoline engine generates 148 hp (110 kW / 150 PS) and 200 Nm (147 lb-ft) of torque. Automatic and 4Motion variants were available, but this one sends power to the front axle via a traditional six-speed manual gearbox.
According to the official specifications, the manual hatchback accelerates from 0-100 km/h (0-62 mph) in 8.8 seconds and tops out at 209 km/h (130 mph). However, there is a good chance that this garage queen hasn't ever seen top gear on an open highway.
Sold for half price
The fifth-gen Golf that debuted in 2003 was praised for its quality, refinement, driving dynamics, and modern design, representing an important step forward compared to its predecessor. In fact, even the sixth-gen Golf that followed in 2008 was an updated version of the same recipe rather than a clean-sheet design. Still, with 3.4 million units of the MK5 being sold, it is definitely not a rare car.
As for the auction on Catawiki, the winning bid was €13,700 ($15,200), which is lower than the initial estimate of €18,000-20,000 ($19,900-22,100). According to Caradisiac, the five-door VW Golf 2.0 FSI Carat with the six-speed manual was priced at €26,950 ($29,900) in France back in 2005, which was only €40 less than the starting price of the three-door Golf GTI. This means that the second owner bought it 21 years later for half the original price – not accounting for inflation. In any case, it will be hard to find such a well-preserved example of the fifth-gen Golf anywhere outside Volkswagen's own collection.
